Divinum Poena
by AnDe101
Summary: He never thought they would take it this far. Well, he also never thought that any of them were capable of being anything else other than the physical representation of a nation. Who knew they were actually just pieces in this dead-lock game?
1. Prologue: The Mark of Ominous Clouds

**Story:** Divinum Poena

**Rating**: T - M (in certain chapters ratings may change)

**Pairing(s)**: Spain x Romano; _others (side-pairings) are still undecided._

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Hetalia or its characters, they belong to Hidekaz Himaruya. I just write the story and its plot.

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><p><em>A thriving civilization lost in the sands of time,<em>

_Awoken once the deed pays for its crime_

_Buried underneath the living does it reside_

_Shall punish those with tainted pride._

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_Let them rise and find their compensation_

_For the fall and burning of their lost civilization._

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><p><strong>Prologue: The Mark of Ominous Clouds<strong>

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_(Romano's POV)_

Tick. Tock.

Tick. Tock.

Tick. Tock.

I let out a breath of frustration that I was holding in and rubbed my face in agitation at the slow passage of time in the conference room. Scanning the large table it was not out of place to see other nations lost in their own thoughts. Half of the people at the table were catching up on lost sleep from yesterday considering how they all had just arrived from their flights and were forced to go to this stupid meeting the very next morning – including yours truly.

Needless to say, this meeting was all in all…a load of utter and total bullshit and a waste of my time.

"Mmm…my toma...toes..."

I gave a quick side glance to the sleeping nation next to me all the while fighting the urge to connect my fist to his head. However, deciding to be generous today – yes I was capable of doing that! – I refrained from going through with the harsh wakeup call, but not because Spain looked so exhausted, dammit!

'_Tch. That's what he gets for going out drinking with those idiots he calls friends before a conference.'_ I thought scathingly folding my hands in front of me.

And speaking of the idiots as I so recently dubbed them, Spain was fast asleep in his seat, France was suffering on the other side of the table – coincidentally, and fortunately, there was a huge decline in molestation incidents today – and the last of the trio was nowhere to be seen. Prussia was probably too incapacitated to get up from whatever floor he had decided to grace his presence on. Then again, his presence was not really needed, nor wanted in my opinion, during these meetings.

I, on the other hand, was here against my own will. Veneziano's ditzy self and air-headedness got us both in trouble with our superiors from the last meeting and so I was sent, and once again I repeat **_against my own will_**, to attend this stupid conference with him and contribute thoughts to whatever the hell we were talking about.

Which brings us back to my current predicament.

"…and now please turn to page 89 in today's agenda to discuss about the steady growth of agriculture…"

Oh. Fuck. My. Life.

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><p>-.-.-.-<p>

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As soon as the meeting was over, I was already out the door. Hell, I was out of the damn building before the speaker even got the chance to sit back down. That feat alone takes _skills_. Unlike those losers, I was already plotting my escape route and of course I chose the fastest possible way out of there.

Sure, it may seem rude to just walk out of the room ignoring the calls of a certain Spaniard and annoying little brother, but if you've got a killer headache like the one I was developing then you would understand too. The need to find a quiet place because _oh-my-fucking-hell_ does it feel like there's a jackhammer party in my head! Who the hell authorized it? I don't freaking know. But it was insubordination nonetheless!

All I know is that the headaches became more prominent over the years. To be honest – wow you're being exposed to all these good qualities I bet you never thought I had – I've had acute cases of these migraines throughout my whole life, but it's never been a problem before so I've just let it go.

Stupidest decision of my life.

Or maybe not, but it was probably pretty high up there in the list.

I groaned and clutched my head as I sat down on a park bench. Huh, I guess my feet had a mind of its own. I didn't even realize I had arrived at a park.

I listened to the swaying trees and felt the cooling caress of the breeze as I exhaled slowly and massaged my temples. Oh, this was _much_ better than that loud and stuffy conference room. Leaning back I gazed at the scarcely scattered clouds above me and appreciated the cool autumn weather.

The park was almost completely void of other people – the normal, mortal ones – and so I sucked in a quick breath before drawing back the cotton long sleeves of my shirt. I stared at my right arm that was bandaged from my wrist to my elbow hiding the ugly secret that I've kept hidden from the world. Literally _and_ figuratively since I'm a nation. Hah. I made a joke. Get it? …Yeah, whatever. Screw you for not getting it.

I quickly scanned the park once again before unwrapping the bandages. I bit my lip as the marks were slowly exposed to the biting, chilly air. The intricate designs were glowing an angry red as the pain in my head intensified.

Breathe in.

Breathe out.

Breathe in.

Breathe out.

Well, that…didn't really help at _all_, but I'm not surprised. Nothing seems to be working these days when the pain sets in it stays until I either pass out or it decides to stop being a bitch and stop on its own.

Either way I had to be a man – and I was a fucking _manly_ man! – and suck it up and endure through the pain…like the man I was! Hah, yeah! Take that you stupid, muscle-headed potato bastards!

After what felt like eons of years the red marks finally stopped glowing and faded away leaving my skin flawless once again.

_Ah?_ What's this? You thought those were marks from cutting myself?

Hell-to-the-_no_.

I don't have _those_ kind of problems…I smiled bitterly and gazed back up at the skies again that were suspiciously darker than before.

Hah…

Nope…

Things were much, much **_worse_**.

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><p>-.-.-.-<p>

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- _End of Prologue_

**A/N:** Just trying something out. And trying to get out of this writer's block funk and my current fandom obsession right now is Hetalia so I figured why not? I'll give it a shot. Thus, I whipped up this quick little intro of a story that I'm thinking of writing. It's still in the works and is being developed, so I can't really tell you where I'll be going with this entirely or how long it will be. I guess it's a work-in-process and the story will slowly unravel in its own.

If you feel like this has potential or if you're interested in it being continued please feel free to tell me! I'm just getting my ideas down to get them out of my head to clear it up a bit because we all know the feeling of having an idea stuck in your head for who knows how long! xD

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{ SilverxStarlight }


	2. Chapter 1: The Darkness that Prowls

**Story:** Divinum Poena

**Rating**: T - M (in certain chapters ratings may change)

**Pairing(s)**: Spain x Romano; _others (side-pairings) are still undecided._

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Hetalia or its characters, they belong to Hidekaz Himaruya. I just write this story and its plot.

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><p>Chapter 1: The Darkness that Prowls<p>

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(_Romano's POV_)

You know…leaving the scene dramatically in a mysterious fashion seemed a lot cooler in my head. What was _NOT_ cool was forgetting where your hotel was and getting totally and utterly lost.

Yes. That was so not cool.

Not cool with me at_ all_.

Regardless, here I am trying to spot any familiar landmarks and trying to avoid from being swallowed up by the crowd. Lower Manhattan, fuck was this place crowded...and a bitch to find your way around. People might mistake me for some foreigner or something – oh wait._ I am_. Well, there goes my cover of trying to blend in. I'm sure it doesn't help that I'm fast-walking, _passively aggressive walking_ dammit – and no I did not shove that old lady who was in my way! Hmm…now you're going to accuse me that walking _against_ the crowd was a bad idea too, huh?...Oh, well so sue me.

Heh, maybe everyone else should be walking _my_ way instead…

Anyways…

Hey! Wait! I think this place is starting to look familiar!...oh wait, nope…this is where I just came from…dammit.

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Okay.

This is just plain _ridiculous_.

This may have been laughable an hour ago, but it's been **THREE** DAMN HOURS.

I was just about ready to kill someone.

Stupid phone for dying out on me. Stupid streets that end up literally nowhere. Stupid brother who was playing Cooking Mama on my phone – he installed the app not me – and thus draining the batter life of my phone. And while we're at it, let's throw in stupid German potato munchers, French perverts, and…and…Spani-

"Oof!"

I pushed myself back up as I tripped over…over…nothing? That was odd…I could have sworn my foot caught onto something and made me lose my footing.

"_Merda_…" I cursed under my breath and grimaced as I noticed the dirt that smeared on my black Armani coat. I sluggishly shrugged it off and shivered at the sudden coldness that crept over me and continued on my way.

On my way…my way...to my hotel _of course_. Yeah…

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I let out a tired sigh and frustratingly ran my hands through my hair as I sat down on the curb of an abandoned street. The roads were oddly barren and the lamp post was flickering above me every so often. The rundown buildings casted shadows onto the pavement that seemed to devour the lingering light that was present.

Yeah, this place was definitely _creepy_.

I stared forlornly at my dead cell phone and looked up towards the sky. Come on all mighty being up there give me something to work with here! A sign! Anything! …

Wow…I _must_ be desperate to start asking the heavens for help. And just as I was reprimanding myself for doing something so stupid I heard the padded footsteps of someone approaching.

"Listen buddy, I don't know who the hell you are but as you can see I'm in no mood to-" I turned around and found myself talking to…thin air? That was odd…I could have sworn I heard the steps of someone behind me.

I rolled my eyes and muttered, "Great…now I'm hearing things too."

Just as I was about to stand up and gather my belongings to re-start my search for my hotel a strong gust of wind knocked me onto the pavement. I tried to stand back up but a pained shriek pierced through my senses and I choked back a scream of my own as the shrieking grew louder and the wind picked up in force slamming into my body in all directions. Then, just as quickly as it arrived, the wind stopped as did the screams. I struggled to steady myself as my legs wobbled uncertainly and my head was reeling from the screams that invaded my ear drums.

My hands trembled as I picked up my coat from the street, with only one thought running through my mind.

'What the _hell_ just happened?'

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><p><em>-.-.-.-<em>

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After that bizarre episode I was more cautious and tried to avoid lone areas as much as possible. I rather take my chances against crowds of tourists than winds that tried to kill you. In a match against Mother Nature, I unfortunately don't stand a chance. Damn.

As I entered a busier part of…wherever the hell I was I heard an ominous rumbling over head. And like a signal of what was to come, droplets began to fall from the sky. It started out as a small rain shower that gradually escalated to a heavy downpour – and with all the shitty luck I was having today, I was not surprised that this was happening. Nope. It was probably just the icing on this cake…a cake that England baked. No _wonder_ it was so shitty and bad.

I ran and took cover under the awning of the nearest building I could find and lo and behold it was the entrance to a bar.

Oh _fuck yes._

I needed something strong to get me through the remainder of the day or else I think I really will just keel over and die. Seriously, I was **that** tired and frustrated with the turn of events that I if I suddenly died I hoped my ghost comes back and wreaks havoc on the idiots that I had to put up with today. They all took part in my death one way or another. Just by being in my mere _presence_ alone did they contribute to my early demise.

Anyways, I entered the lowly lit bar and seated myself down onto a bar stool. I waved over the bartender and just by the look on my face and posture could he sense the hostile vibes I was giving out and did not question me when I asked for something, and I quote, "fucking strong if you value your pathetic life". He took the threat to heart and immediately started brewing up my order. Smart man. One should never mess with a pissed of Italian.

As I waited for my drink I scanned the room and found that it was relatively empty except for a scattered few of drunks and hipsters that were probably here to get high and crap. I scoffed and placed my chin onto the palm of my hand. I tried to tune out the static of the television above me as it was giving an update on the weather and traffic reports. Blah blah, accidents, blah blah, bad news.

Jeez, what else is new?

It seemed that bad news predominated over good news these days. I don't think I have ever seen a broadcast that just reported on something good without the bad news outweighing it. Then again, with how things are going in the world maybe we've just re-directed our focus, and coincidentally, it just happens to be bad news. I guess this is what happens when reality catches up with you. It just hits you _hard_. I frowned at the thought and reached for my drink that was placed in front me.

I took a big gulp and ignored the stinging sensation in my eyes or the burning liquid that was making its way down my throat. I slammed the drink down onto the table loudly and sniffed. I wondered if people ever got a break. And if they did…would that apply to nations as well? Would_ I_ ever catch a break? Just as I was about to wave down the bartender for another drink I heard an all too familiar voice echoing in the room.

"WELL! CHECK **THIS** OUT!" A gruff voice bellowed, followed by the raucous laughter of his companions.

I internally groaned and fought the urge to repeatedly slam my head onto the table in front of me. Why? Dear god _why_? Of all the places to find refuge in from the rain…I end up in the same place as…as _those_ three?

"Ah~ Gilbert, you must slow down _mon cher_!"

Shit, the French pervert was here.

"Sí! This isn't a competition Gil!"

…And so was stupid Spain. Ugh, just shoot me now.

"Heh, you're lucky it ain't! I could drink all of you under in no time at all!" The albino boasted and downed another shot.

France chuckled and took a sip from his wine, "I have no doubt that you'd have someone _under you_ if they tried to drink as much as you Gilbert." The sexual innuendos going right over the heads of his two friends.

I shuddered and wondered why they actually let people like France even into public places at all. He should be confined to isolation…in Siberia or something. Far away from society and innocent victims. And speaking of victims, not so much innocent, however, I found myself staring - I _mean_ casually observing how the Spanish bastard just grinned his stupid, dopey smile and acted as if he was not in the presence of a notorious pervert and egotistical potato jerk. That was Spain for you…

"Ohh! I have a great idea, _mon amis_!"

Hah. As if anything that Frenchie can come up with could be considered "great", unless it had some underlying sexual motives behind it.

"Let's play strip poker! _Oh hon hon~_"

See? What I tell you. You've got to be careful with that one…very…very careful. Watch yourself _AND_ him. You never know where and when he'll attack. Trust me on this.

Just when the other two agreed – probably too out of it to even notice the lecherous glint in France's eyes – I hightailed it out of there before risking exposure to things I rather _not_ see. I faltered in my hasty escape as I suddenly wondered how well Spain could play poker. I felt a blush coming on and immediately banished the thought and continued my fast-paced walk. **No!** I was not thinking of Spain losing and…losing _other_ _things_! …Fucking perverts all of you!

...Damn, did it just get hotter in here or what?

…Ahh...don't answer that, dammit.

_-.-.-.-_

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I was walking briskly down the sidewalk – the rain had come down to a slight drizzle – when all of a sudden the temperature suddenly dropped. I gasped as the cold seemed to seep underneath my skin, chilling me to the bone. My eyes widened as I found myself alone once again. I rubbed my hands together and blew warm air into them to try and warm myself up, but to no avail. Despite the chilling temperature I trudged on forward and just as I passed by another alley the throbbing in my head from before came back.

I stopped and took deep breaths, clutching my head in my hands. Why now? Why was it happening again?

An ear-splitting scream sent me to my knees as the pain in my head intensified. The pavement in front of me was blurry – blurred by tears? Fuck, was I crying? – and small, black dots appeared in my vision before everything got swallowed up by the darkness.

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><p><em><strong><em>-.-.-.-<em>**_

_**__-.-.-.-__**_

_**You can't run away from me.**_

_A cloaked figure ran through the tight alley and pushed the garbage cans onto the ground in an attempt to stall the creature that was chasing him._

_**Every step you take brings you one step closer to me.**_

_He could hear the creature's labored breath, its sharp claws scraping the ground it came in contact with, and could sense its blood lust. It was out for blood, his blood._

_**Like a game of cat and mouse.**_

_A dead end._

_Oh no….no…no! The cloaked figure turned and hoped it was not too late to turn back and found himself facing the formidable creature. Its glowering red eyes locked onto his horrified ones._

_**You cannot keep running you know…because eventually…**_

_He clutched the cross that was hanging from a necklace and muttered a final prayer before the creature pounced and tortured screams pierced through the air. His anguish carried on by the gale strong winds and his remains, an open carcass ripped apart, which the rats would soon feed on._

_**The hunter becomes the hunted.**_

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><p><em>-.-.-.-<em>

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**A/N:** Okay! So I think this is where we'll break off for this chapter. In the next one, we'll be back with Romano and find out what the hell just happened to him and what this mysterious ending part connection is to the story. Some of you might already know! There are context clues within that last part that you may just figure out what happened! And you can always find out in the next chapter to come!

**P.S.** _PFFT_. Yes, the BTT appeared out of nowhere, I know. I apologize, but mention "bar" or "drinks" or "having a _good_ time" and I swear you'll find those three involved. xD

_And thank you to all who favorite'd, story alert'ed, and reviewed in my previous chapter! It was greatly appreciated! :)_

Until next time~!

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{ _SilverxStarlight _}


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